Kilcoy - Burleigh Heads

We left our mates at Nanango and the ‘plan’ was to base ourselves at Woodford Showground so I could take the Chev into PID diesel Engineering at Kunda Park but a phone call to the Showgrounds told us they were closed due to flooding. So our next choice was Kilcoy Showground, this was open and at $19 per night for power & water it is good value, only criticism at all was the lush green grass was long and needed a good mow, but we understood its not the easiest when everything is wet.

We chilled for a few days, drove to Woodford for some shopping and on Monday I took the Chev into Heath at PID. Jodi drove me to the Sunshine Plaza where I had a riveting exciting time walking around the many glitzy shops … Goord I dislike Shopping centres 🙄😣

3 Hours later Jodi picked me up and the Chev was ready to go, everything done and checked over for a very reasonable price. I would not hesitate to use PID again. Back to Kilcoy and the next day it was a move to Burleigh Heads where ‘SHOCK HORROR’ we were booked in at the BH Tourist Park. Have I mentioned I dislike Van Parks !!! To be fair the location was perfect, directly opposite the Beach with some surfers enjoying the waves but the sites are cramped and not the easiest to reverse the van and Chev into our site. But we succeeded and we were only there for two nights so we could get some DECKED Drawers installed and a RSI Smart Cap Canopy fitted. Both companies were excellent to deal with and were fitted on the Wednesday and apart from the huge effort on my part in removing the electric tub cover, and everything else we had in the Ute and then having to put it all back in my spine had given up and was giving me extreme grief … even the ‘good’ drugs didn’t help … worse when laying down so keep moving and it’s tolerable.

A quick visit to Vickie’s Brother Frapper and Curls at Banora Point that night and Thursday we were thankfully back on the road getting away from the Gold Coast …Yuk !!!! With a destination of Bingara again we headed up through Grafton and Glenn Innes, the road took us up into the Gibraltar Range, a very steep, windy road with spectacular views, some of the rivers we either went over or saw were flowing very wide and fast due to all the recent floods closer to the NSW Coast. We came the closest to running out of fuel on this drive, we made it to Inverell and filled the 130lt tank with 132 litres, fuel consumption was 19lph which is excellent considering the Hills we had just driven up plus the extra weight of the drawers and canopy plus all the stuff we were also carrying. We have stopped a couple of nights at the Inverell Showgrounds, mainly to get the Honda Generator we bought from here last year checked over as it won’t start, the mechanic tells me the carb and fuel bowl is dirty, it’s never been used apart from the initial start when sold to us. 🤷‍♂️🤷‍♂️ ORI Electric Roller Shutter to be sold along with a set of Outback Accessories Roller drawers when we get home. 😁

Nanango

Visited friends at Nanango QLD for a couple of nights, Rob & Marg we have known for an eternity and it’s always lovely to catch up. They have a gorgeous 5 acre property with a lovely home and a massive shed Rob has built. Lots of trees, green grass & natural gardens along with dozens of different varieties of birds. It also gave me time to remove the electric tub cover from the Ute in preparation for having a RSI Smart Cap canopy fitted, something I should have done from the beginning.

Texas

I’m in need of a little manscaping 😂 This is what you get when you try to get an escaped cow back into its paddock.

It’s called Farmer's Friend," also known as Cobbler's Pegs or Bidens pilosa, is a common weed in gardens, parks, and roadsides. It's identifiable by its small, yellow flowers, and the spiky, hooked seed heads that readily stick to clothing. The weed is a herbaceous plant that can grow up to 1.8 meters tall, with square stems and toothed leaves.

Grenfell - Bingara

Catch up time : After leaving Grenfell we made our way to Forbes and then onto Tottenham and Nyngan where we saw more painted silos though Nyngan wasn’t finished it would be lovely when completed.

We stayed a night at Walgett at the free camp, dump point and water tap provided, thanks Walgett. Lightning Ridge was on the visitor list, we have been there before but it’s always worth revisiting places. Vickie bought two opal pieces from a pop up stall at a good price compared to what some shops were asking. With many Northern roads closed we decided to drive back to Walgett and stay another night.

We had thoughts of going to Moree but the lure of Bingara won out. We have been here many times before and love the town and the camping along the Gwydir River. The river camps were all full when we arrived but after two nights a lot of vans had left, we think the voting kept them here until today as we managed to get our favourite place beside the river. Water levels are down compared to other visits but the bird life is still prolific.

A drive up to the Batterham Lookout for Sunset drink for my Mother whose Birthday is today and where her ashes are scattered at the top along with her husband Neil.